Heart-warming gestures of appreciation by residents have made the jobs of front line staff at Bradford Council a lot easier.
Street cleaning, litter picking, dustbin emptying and a host of other jobs provided by the local authority are normally part of the background scenery of life in general – hardly noticed or remarked upon.
In a time of crisis, what was once merely commonplace becomes remarkable. The vital necessity of services like street cleaning and bin collecting is brought home to everyone.
And for those at the front line of these services – even at the risk to their own health – public appreciation and affection is growing.
As they have been going about their business in the last few days, bin crews have been coming across little presents and ‘Thank You’ notes from residents who realise that life would be much worse if these amazing workers were no longer on duty.
Bin crew members said they were almost overwhelmed by the gestures of support.
One said: “When the Government lockdown started we knew we would have to carry on working because the place would be in a right state if the bins didn’t get emptied.
“It’s been a tough time for us and the work is getting harder as more and more of our mates are having to stay at home because they are in isolation.
“Finding these presents and notes gives us a real lift and makes us realise that what we are doing is appreciated. We can’t thank people enough.”
Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “We know that our residents appreciate the efforts made by our workers to keep the district’s core services going, but it really is wonderful for some of them to show it in this way.
“It really gives our people an added incentive to carry on and brings it home to everyone that we are all in this together, and we will get through it together.”